"This is the largest
number of border guards Frontex has ever requested in the history
of the agency. The officers are to assist mainly Italy and Greece
in the registration and identification of migrants coming from
Libya and Turkey.

Since the beginning
of this year over 470 000 migrants arrived in Greece and Italy
alone. No country can possibly handle such high migratory pressure
at its borders by itself. It is crucial that all those arriving
in the EU are properly registered and identified, said
Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri.

Frontex requested 670 officers
 mainly screeners, debriefers and interpreters to
be deployed in Italy and Greece, in addition to 105 officers
to be deployed at various external land borders of the European
Union.

The screening officers
play a key role in helping authorities to determine the nationality
of the incoming migrants in order to identify and register them.
Debriefers gather information about the activities of smuggling
networks." [emphasis
added]

Frontex "Screening officers"
will be carrying out "nationality screening"
(Frontex in European Parliament hearing on 23 September 2015),
followed by registration and fingerprinting after which refugees
will be divided into two groups, those destined for "return"
to their country of origin to be held in closed camps and those
to be relocated in the EU through asylum procedures in open camps.

"ATHENS, Greece, October
2 (UNHCR) -- The UN refugee agency said on Friday that refugee
and migrant arrivals in Greece are expected to hit the 400,000
mark soon, despite adverse weather conditions. Greece remains
by far the largest single entry point for new sea arrivals in
the Mediterranean, followed by Italy with 131,000 arrivals so
far in 2015. With the new figures from Greece, the total number
of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean this year
is nearly 530,000.

UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards
told journalists in Geneva that the continuing high rate of arrivals
underlines the need for a fast implementation of Europe's relocation
programme, jointly with the establishment of robust facilities
to receive, assist, register and screen all people arriving by
sea. "These are steps needed for stabilizing the crisis,"
he said.

As of this morning, a total
of 396,500 people have entered Greece by sea since the beginning
of the year, more than 153,000 of them in September alone. The
nine-month 2015 total compares to 43,500 such arrivals in Greece
in all of 2014. Ninety-seven per cent are from the world's top
10 refugee-producing countries, led by Syria (70 per cent), Afghanistan
(18 per cent) and Iraq (4 per cent)."

News (3-4,10.15)

Massive rally shows support for refugees (The Local.at, lkink): "A rally
in support of migrants fleeing the Syrian conflict and other
hardships drew tens of thousands to Vienna on Saturday, organisers
and police said. Austria has been a key transit point for many
refugees reaching eastern Europe, and organisers said their bid
to show public solidarity drew some 60,000 into the capital's
streets."

Let's Not Militarize the Refugee Crisis
in Croatia (liberties.eu,
link): "The Croatian president's announcement to raise
the degree of readiness of the Croatian Army ahead of the UN
Security Council session is an unnecessary and insensitive response
to the migrant crisis."

Croatia President to Meet Orban to Defuse
Crisis (Balkaninsight,
link): "Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic will
visit Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to discuss the refugee
crisis and the disputes that have damaged relations"

Sweden: Funding
questioned as refugee numbers rocket (The Local.se, link):
"Sweden's government has promised to boost funding for
refugees in its next budget, but with its forecast for new arrival
numbers in 2015 set to be reached this month, official calculations
are being called into question.... According to official statistics
quoted by the TT news agency, 73,000 people had applied for asylum
in Sweden by the end of September, close to the 74,000 expected
in the country in the whole of 2015."

Minister: Abuse of fear of migrants is
dangerous (praguepost.com/czech-news,
link): "Jirí Dienstbier praises Angela Merkel
for her approach... Abusing people's fear of migrants and Muslims
in the political struggle is very dangerous mainly for mainstream
parties most of which are moderate, Jirí Dienstbier (Social
Democrats, CSSD), Czech human rights and equal opportunities
minister, told Czech journalists today. He said such procedure
only plays into the hands of extremist groupings and it consequently
turns against the mainstream parties."

Czech government prepares for tight-border
security scenario
(Radio Praha, link): "The Czech government on Wednesday
approved a bill on state border protection which would enable
the Interior Ministry to order the imposition of border checks
in the event of a serious security threat to the country. Meanwhile,
the army and police have been undertaking a joint training exercise
along the Czech-Austrian border to prepare for such an emergency."

Refugee crisis puts Athens on the brink (DW, link): "The flow of refugees
through Greece is greater than ever, but bad weather and border
closures threaten to strand thousands and stretch coping mechanisms
beyond control. Pavlos Zafiropoulos reports from Athens."

Refugee sea arrivals in Greece this year approach
400,000 (UNHCR, link):
"The UN refugee agency said on Friday that refugee and
migrant arrivals in Greece are expected to hit the 400,000 mark
soon, despite adverse weather conditions. Greece remains by far
the largest single entry point for new sea arrivals in the Mediterranean,
followed by Italy with 131,000 arrivals so far in 2015. With
the new figures from Greece, the total number of refugees and
migrants crossing the Mediterranean this year is nearly 530,000.
As of this morning, a total of 396,500 people have entered Greece
by sea since the beginning of the year, more than 153,000 of
them in September alone. The nine-month 2015 total compares to
43,500 such arrivals in Greece in all of 2014. Ninety-seven per
cent are from the world's top 10 refugee-producing countries,
led by Syria (70 per cent), Afghanistan (18 per cent) and Iraq
(4 per cent)."

Nordic states fret over migrant threat
to borders (The Local.dk,
link): "Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said in
Copenhagen on Saturday said she feared for Europe's borderless
Schengen zone and urged countries to shore up their external
frontiers in the face of the migrant crisis.".

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